Deborah Alison (Heck) Puppe, a resident of Harbor Club in Greensboro, Georgia, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, at the age of 77, after a long battle with a rare cancer.
Debbie was born in Amsterdam, New York, on Nov. 17, 1948. Her family moved to East Greenbush, New York, when she was 5, where she graduated from Columbia High School in 1966.
Upon graduation, Debbie attended Vermont College. She returned home and worked for The Research Foundation for the State University of New York. In 1969, she enrolled in a special course for college graduates at Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in Boston.
Upon graduation, Debbie worked as the executive secretary for Kubitz & Pepi/Desmond & Lord, the architects who built Boston’s Logan International Airport terminal.
On Aug. 7, 1971, Debbie married Russell Arthur Puppe of Hensel, North Dakota, in a ceremony at East Greenbush Dutch Reformed Church.
After the wedding, the young couple moved to Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Debbie was a full-time homemaker. She raised two children while supporting Russell in his work and accompanying him through many moves with corporations across the country.
Debbie and Russell retired in 2010 and moved to a lake-and-golf community in Greensboro, Georgia. There, she remained active in community and church service.
Debbie is survived by her loving husband of 55 years; two beloved children and five treasured grandchildren: Kevin (Gen) Puppe (Ayden, Cooper and Boden) and Susan (Mark) Wentker (Alison and Ryan); sister Barbara Bartoletti of Rensselaer, New York; and brother Martin Heck (Brenda) of Penhook, Virginia.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Martin and Alison Heck.
A visitation and memorial service will be held at Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church in Eatonton, Georgia, on Aug. 15, 2026. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m., followed by the service at 10:30 a.m.
Burial will take place at Albany Rural Cemetery in Albany, New York, on Oct. 9, 2026.
Memorial donations may be made to Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church, Eatonton, Georgia; Northside Hospital Foundation–Cancer Institute, Alpharetta, Georgia; or Greene County Habitat for Humanity, Greensboro, Georgia 30642.